SIMMONS: Lowry a little giant for Raptors in Game 1 against Bucks

Raptors guard Kyle Lowry (7) dishes offl under pressure from Milwaukee Bucks forward Nikola Mirotic during Game 1 of their Eastern Conference final playoff series in Milwaukee on Wednesday night. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press)

MILWAUKEE — It looks like an oven mitt, the protective glove being worn on Kyle Lowry’s left hand. If Lowry was getting ready for an episode of Beat Bobby Flay, you might be encouraged.

But he’s already engaged and cooking in the Eastern Conference final of the NBA and just how Lowry matches up against the pair of impressive Milwaukee point-guards, Eric Bledsoe and George Hill, will be paramount to how the Raptors eventually match up against the Bucks in this best-of-seven series.

Game 1 was more than just a start for Lowry. He was fabulous. He scored more than 30 points for only the second time all season. He played terrific defence. He moved the ball. And it has to be bothering him profoundly that he played that well, his Raptors were that close before running out of gas late, and they somehow let a win get away in Game 1.

What the Raptors lacked and the Bucks didn’t was depth. After leading most of the game until early in the fourth quarter, the challenge is different for Lowry going forward. The stage is greater. And while so much has been made of the mega-stars in the series — in the fourth quarter, with the game on the line, Giannis Antetokounmpo couldn’t score and neither, really could Kawhi Leonard. Kawhi ended with 31 points. Brook Lopez led the Bucks in scoring with 29 points.

But what has to be both encouraging and discouraging for the Raptors is how great Lowry played and how they couldn’t hold on to win in the fourth quarter. They didn’t want to waste this kind of brilliance.

In Game 1, Lowry won his battle. In Game 1, the rest of the Raptors couldn’t hit shots, especially in the fourth quarter. The game was right there to be won by the Raptors. At 104-100 in the final minute, Lowry missed a three and Danny Green missed a three and off that rebound Eric Bledsoe went coast to coast for a basket.

That made it 106-100. If one of the threes hits, it’s 104-103 in the final minute. That’s how close this game was. And Lowry won his matchup — as challenging as that’s going to be for the rest of the series. Leonard carried the Raptors through the third quarter but only had two points in the fourth.

“It’s going to be interesting to see how this plays out,” said coach Nick Nurse, talking about the battle of the guards. “It’s a concern, not just two guards, they (Bucks) have four guards.” He was including Malcolm Brogdon, who ended up with 15 points and Pat Connaughton as well.

Lowry basically averages the same scoring as Hill most nights. And historically Hill has played awfully well against the Raptors, especially with Indiana a few playoff seasons back. But Hill didn’t score Wednesday night and Lowry didn’t stop scoring. He had 14 fourth-quarter points: Toronto only scored 17 points in the final quarter after scoring 34 in the first, 25 in the second, 24 in the third.

Siakam had one point in the final quarter, Marc Gasol had none.

In three games against the Bucks during the season, Lowry averaged just over six points a game. He had nine by halftime. And then lit it up in the second half. Fred VanVleet finished with two points.

This is where the trade for Gasol hurts just a little. The Raptors traded away Delon Wright in that deal. Wright wasn’t a starter but he was a large, defensively sharp, occasionally offensive guard. He could play either guard position. He was 6-foot-5 and defensively long. Raptors could use him now — but to get something they had to give up something.

It put more focus on Lowry, who probably has never had a better night as a Raptor. Against all odds, he plays his against all odds kind of basketball.

Bledsoe had no points in the first half but a huge bucket late. We will see more from Giannis in the series. He wasn’t great Wednesday night. We will see from Leonard. He can be more efficient. There are still matchups to play out here. The battle for Lowry, against Bledsoe, Hill, Brogdon is central to the series.

The Raptors have every reason to be kicking themselves just a little after letting this one get away. What they showed is they can play with he Bucks — their defence for much of the game was spectacular. Showing it is one thing. Finding a way to finish, that’s the next challenge.

This series has just begun and Game 1 was terrific in every way but the final result. It was a memorable game, minus a few jump shots that bounced off the rim in the final minutes and didn’t fall.

Kyle Lowry was a giant for the Raptors Wednesday night. Now time to pass the baton and bring some of his teammates along for the ride.